And thus, we set off on a new Journey with Shinji Ikari. Starting with some bad parenting...
Jan' 2023.
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
Jan' 2023.
Quote:“This is really an alien piece of metal?”________________________________
Shinji held it between his fingers, angling it to catch the overhead lights. It was the size of an AA-battery, shinning with a polished brass lustre. It really didn't seem like all that much - little more than any other random chunk of alloy.
“That’s cut from a block ten-thousand years old. We don’t really know how it works, but we know that it does.”
He looked up at Jet, who's expression told him she was dead serious. It seemed impossible....
Really. Shouldn't alien metal be more exotic somehow? It was nothing more than an unusually heavy chunk of brass.
“I’ve heard that before,” he said flatly. “Is it safe?”
“We wouldn’t give it to you if we hadn’t tested it. That’s why the Judy was built - to make sure it was safe.”
The Judy itself was sitting on the bench with most of its fairing removed - a few final checks and changes before he finally left. Shinji glanced back at it over his shoulder.
“I’ve heard that before,” he repeated.
“And you really can’t tell anyone about it, because you’ll drop us in one hell of a massive shitstorm.”
He felt a little chill go through his body. Memories of a single arrogant police officer came back, drawing a bolt of anger that he crushed in his hand. “It’s not illegal, is it?”
“No." Jet shook her head. "You don’t need to worry about being arrested for it or anything like that. But the Feddies declared the whole area around where we found it a special zone of research and classified the existance of the ruined gate. If people find we have it, it isn’t going to be hard for them to figure out where it came from. ”
"They're trying to keep it for themselves then?"
“If you’re being cynical about it.” Jet shrugged it off. “The reason they gave me was that they just didn’t want their research into the planet’s terraforming to be ripped up by a full-blown gold-rush. Which knowing the Feddies is probably true.”
"I'm not sure," he muttered to himself. “If you’re worried about people finding out, then why’d you do it in the first place? The easiest way to get away with things like this is to not do them in the first place.”
It was always easier to stand up to the puppet, than the walking miniature Evangelion.
“Because it’s going to get out sooner or later when some other poor idiot blows it up and we want to be in at the start when it does, rather than being ten years behind trying to catch up.”
Her tone hardened for a moment. Shinji said nothing, sensing the frustration simmering beneath.
“Look. If you’re that worried about it, then we can take the batteries out and replace them with standard waved-Lithium. But if you keep ‘em, you have to keep quiet about them. "
“I’ve always tried to be honest,” he said, keeping his voice low.
Jet just smiled back at him. “Sometimes you need to be a little sneaky and dishonest to get ahead. When the whole universe is smarter, richer and more influential than you - it's all you can do to try stack the deck in your favour.”
He frowned at her. “That sounds pretty unscrupulous."
“That doesn’t make it wrong. And doesn't mean I don't have scruples either. It's just a matter of finding the right balance really."
"So what if I told someone then?" he asked, his voice still mild. Inside, he was thrilled.
"I'd be disappointed. And you'd be causing a lot of problems for us."
A sly smirk crawled across his lips. He knew he had her on that one. "But if it stacks the deck in my favour?"
The puppet took a single breath, settling back against the workbench. It creaked under her weight.
"Well Shinji, that's a decision you have to make for yourself. What sort of person you are will be determined by where you draw the line."
Again, the smile didn't go away. It seemed so unnatural - clear sign that she was speaking remotely rather than in person.
"And where do I draw the line?" he asked.
Jet shrugged."That's for you to figure out."
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?